


Finding Family

by LadyMystery



Category: Batman - All Media Types, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow To Update, WIP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2020-09-26 05:22:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMystery/pseuds/LadyMystery
Summary: The fight for the Shikon Jewel is over and Naraku is finally gone - but at a terrible price.  Left reeling from all she has lost, Kagome's mother grows concerned for her troubled daughter and reaches out for help from the one person she had sworn she would never contact - Kagome's biological father.  How will Kagome handle finding out that her father is actually THE Bruce Wayne?  And on top of that, he's Batman, too?  Her brother seems to think that being a hero runs in the family, but will she ever be able to shake off the shackles of the past enough to live up to the image he has of her?  It's a long road to recovery, something that Kagome couldn't achieve by staying in Japan, but maybe she will be able to do so in Gotham City.





	1. A Miko's Woes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my lovely readers! This is my first ever fanfic, so please take it easy on me. If you notice any errors or have any ideas or suggestions I would be so, so grateful if you could message me. Constructive criticism is always welcome. That being said, I will not tolerate any flames. I've already mentioned that this is my first ever fic and if it is really that bad then go read something else.  
Moving on, I am warning you all now that updates will be extremely sporadic. This is shaping up to be a rather long fic but my muse is a fickle piece of work and sometimes leaves me for months without a hint of inspiration. That being said, I have no intention of abandoning this fic but I will let you all know if that changes.  
Now, here is my disclaimer which I admit I stole from someone else: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.  
Other than that, I hope you all enjoy my story.  
Happy reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though in cannon it was her 15th birthday when Kagome fell down the well, I am pushing it back to her 14th birthday and making her adventures last two years, so she has plenty of time to train but is not too old compared to Dick and the other young heroes.

Kagome stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, staring at her reflection. Her deep, sapphire blue eyes stared back. Her thick, raven black hair flowed down her back, stopping at her waist. Her skin was tanned from spending many hours outdoors and her body was fit and toned from many hours of training and exercise. Kagome looked down at her left wrist where a delicate looking silver charm bracelet could be found. A myriad of emotions flickered through her eyes as a small, fond smile tinged with nostalgia quirked the corners of her lips up. She fingered the small charms hanging there as she let herself get lost reminiscing. 

After falling down the well on her fourteenth birthday and spending the next few months running around feudal Japan getting chased, attacked, kidnapped, and constantly being the damsel in distress needing to be rescued, Kagome had had enough of being the weak link in the group and turned to the woman who she was quickly coming to see as not just her best friend but her older sister. Sango was the strongest person she knew; if anyone could teach her how to be strong and survive in this world, it was her. And she was right. Sango jumped at the chance to train the one she viewed as a little sister, and to pass on the ways of her village to at least one other once more. 

It was hard work. Despite Sango’s kind and loving nature, when it came to training she was a harsh taskmaster. Kagome was determined though, and as the weeks passed by, Kagome noticed her strength and endurance increasing, her reflexes sharpening. She was no longer the clumsy young girl who used to stumble around, she was starting to develop a warrior’s grace. 

She knew, however, that no matter how well she learnt how to fight, her biggest advantage, her biggest strength, the thing that set her apart from the others in her group and made her someone to be wary of even from day one, was her miko powers – powers she only barely knew how to use. And so, she turned to Miroku and Kaede, her perverted but caring older brother and her kind old grandmother. Together, they taught her how to meditate, how to immerse herself in her powers, how to see auras, how to heal both herself and others, how to create barriers, how to create sutras and other holy objects, and most importantly, how to use her powers in battle.

Almost a year into her journey, one of her nightly sparring sessions with Sango was observed by Sesshomaru. As the struggle against Naraku had drawn on, the group had found themselves running into Sesshomaru and his companions more and more, to the point that the two brothers no longer tried to kill each other every time they met, and could even stand each other’s presence for a few hours while Rin and Shippo played with Kagome mothering over them. Kagome had noticed Sesshomaru seeming to take interest in her actions, particularly when she was looking after Rin, but had brushed it off as him looking out for his bright young ward. Now, however, with him watching her fight, she was starting to get a different feeling. This feeling was proven correct when, at the end of the spar, Sesshomaru turned to leave and said over his shoulder, “Tomorrow you shall train with This Sesshomaru.” 

Sesshomaru and his companions permanently joined their group after that and the training from hell began. Sango may have been a harsh taskmaster, but she had nothing on Sesshomaru. He pushed her to her very limits, and some nights she wondered how much more she could take, but she never gave up and each morning she came back for more, impressing everyone, including herself, with her perseverance and fortitude. 

The weeks flowed on, battles ensued, some were won, some were lost, but they persevered, and knew the end drew ever nearer, knew that someday, somehow, it would all be over, and all the while Kagome became a more and more formidable opponent. 

And then an offer was made that shocked them all. 

Sesshomaru offered to adopt Kagome as his sister. 

Apparently, he had seen how she looked after Rin as if she was her own, even though she had no obligation to do so. In the feudal era, orphans were considered a burden and were best left for dead. To see someone freely offer love, care, and more importantly food and other resources, to any child she came across, of an equal share to what she gave her own child, was a rare thing and what first truly brought Sesshomaru’s attention to her. To then see her training to help protect her ‘pack’, as he saw it, gained her the first glimmers of approval. Her final challenge was when he trained her himself. When he pushed her to the edges of endurance and she didn’t give up, when she kept coming back because she knew this training would help her not only survive but better protect her pack, that was when she finally earned his respect and acceptance and became worthy of being a part of _his_ pack.

It was very rare, almost unheard of, for blood adoption rituals to take place between a demon and a human. Between a demon and a _miko_ it had never happened before and, as such, it was unclear what the exact outcome or consequences might be, but it was decided that it was worth the risk and the adoption took place. Instead of her reiki rising up and fighting off the youki of the invading blood and preventing the adoption as many feared, it instead seemed to almost wrap around it, absorb it, make it part of itself, and as such Kagome took to the demon blood far more thoroughly than any normal human undergoing the same ritual. Instead of gaining slightly enhanced senses, maybe a few demonic traits, extra speed and strength, and a lengthened life span, Kagome became what appeared to be a hanyou. Everyone could sense the youki she now possessed, however they could also still sense her reiki. Instead of the two opposing energies trying to cancel each other out and rip Kagome apart, they somehow merged together, making Kagome the first ever demon miko. 

After the success of the first ritual, Kagome immediately underwent a second one, this time with Shippo, officially adopting him as her son and further increasing the demon blood running through her veins.

Shaking herself out of her memories and reaching up to a thin, black choker around her neck, Kagome fingered the small, gold, crescent moon shaped pendant hanging there. Sending a small amount of her unique personal ki through her fingers and into the pendent, Kagome watched as it changed from gold to indigo. Looking back up at her reflection, Kagome took note of how her image had changed now that her human glamour had been dropped. Her body stayed the same, still the same short height as before, still with tanned skin and clearly defined muscles, however, if one didn’t know any better one would think an entirely different being stood there now. Sharp claws now adorned the tips of her fingers and two pointed fangs could be seen peeking between plump pink lips. Her ears were long, pointed and elfin-looking. Her previously raven black waist-length hair was now largely silver with black streaks, flowed all the way down to her knees, and the last few inches were a vibrant red. Her eyes were still their deep sapphire blue, however, flecks of bright gold and vibrant green could be seen swirling within, creating an otherworldly effect. An indigo crescent moon sat at the centre of her forehead and a single magenta stripe adorned each cheek. Movement from behind revealed a long fluffy tail of the same colour scheme as her hair – silver with black streaks and a red tip. Glancing down at her wrists again, noting the matching single stripes that wrapped around them, she started playing with the charms encircling one of her wrists once more.

An unexpected result of the two rituals was Kagome ending up more demon than human, having more demon blood than even Inuyasha, her once crush turned best friend. Which unfortunately for her lead to even more training to gain control of her new abilities. It also led to a trip to see old Totosai to get her own weapons. Using one of her fangs (oww), Totosai forged her a beautiful sword named Chimei Hana – Fatal Flower. He also forged her a beautiful chain bracelet, enchanted so that, once bonded to her personal ki, only she could remove it from her wrist, and with the ability to store her weapons on it in the form of charms – the same charm bracelet she was currently playing with. 

It currently had her sword, bow and arrows, several daggers, her fully stocked first aid kit, and even her demon-slayer armour that she wore when in the feudal era – it looked just like Sango’s but with blue instead of pink. They had all served her well in the battle against Naraku, which finally culminated almost two years after she first fell down the well. 

They won, but at a terrible cost. 

Inuyasha, her best friend, her first love, her blood brother, gave his life to save hers and end the final battle. And then, in a cruel twist of fate, as soon as Kagome pulled the Shikon Jewel away from Naraku’s dying corpse and her powers automatically purified it, she was ripped away from the Feudal Era and sent back to her own time. The last thing she saw was her battered and blood-soaked family’s horrified faces as a pink glow overtook her form, their desperate cries for her rang in her ears, her son’s cry loudest of all, before she found herself at the bottom of the Bone Eater’s Well once more, back in the Modern Era.

Glancing out her bedroom window, Kagome could see the Goshinboku, standing as strong and tall as always, a constant reminder of her best friend, and all those she had lost. Kagome bowed her head as her memories once again tried to overwhelm her and a lone tear fell before she forcefully shook herself out of it. Once again summoning up a spark of her mixed ki, she touched her crescent moon necklace, turning it gold once again and reapplying her human glamour. Pushing the memories away once more, Kagome tried to force a smile on her face before turning towards her bedroom door, mentally steeling herself in preparation to drag herself through yet another day, weighed down as she was by the memories of those lost to her.


	2. A Mother's Worry

Kun-Loon Higurashi watched with worried eyes from the kitchen window as her eldest child and only daughter swept the grounds of the shrine outside as part of her morning chores. The last two years had been hard on the Higurashi family, but on none more so than the soon-to-be sixteen-year-old girl.

Kun-Loon had spent the last two years with her heart almost constantly lodged in her throat. While Kagome had tried to down-play the situation and shield her family as much as she could, Kun-Loon was well aware of the constant and deadly danger that Kagome put herself in each time she went down that well.

She was no fool – she had studied the Feudal Era when she was at school, and a quick trip to the library refreshed her memory of some of the horrors and bloodshed that occurred during that era. This was further compounded on the multiple occasions Kagome came home sporting all kinds of injuries. Kun-Loon was constantly afraid every time she watched Kagome jump down the well that that would be the last time she saw her precious girl.

Kun-Loon often found herself wishing that they could just run away from it all. That she could bundle Kagome up and take her somewhere far away, where she didn’t have to battle monsters or disappear through time with the risk of never returning. But every time, she imagined her brave, strong, loyal daughter and how she had committed herself to completing this mission alongside her new friends that she would never abandon, and she knew it was just a futile wish.

So Kun-Loon committed herself to providing as much support for Kagome as she could, purchasing supplies, tending to injuries, providing a safe place Kagome could come to rest and recover – whether that be physically or emotionally, and never once allowing her fear or her worry to show. For as much as Kun-Loon suffered watching her daughter walk into danger somewhere she could not reach, she knew, no matter how hard Kagome tried to hide it, that her daughter had to go through so much more.

She knew that her precious daughter was no longer innocent to the world around her, that she had seen war and bloodshed, death and destruction, things that she herself could not imagine, things that could break a lesser spirit. But as the months rolled by Kagome didn’t break, she stayed strong and stayed herself. Kun-Loon could see her daughter changing with each visit home, she was wiser, calmer, more mature, her movements grew more graceful and belied a hidden strength, but at the heart of it all, she was still the same cheerful girl who freely gave her love to everyone around her.

Kun-Loon started to have hope that everything would be alright. Each time Kagome came home, she was that much closer to finishing her quest, she was that much stronger, more able to survive the coming fights, and instead of breaking her as Kun-Loon had first feared, her experiences had instead seemed to strengthen her spirit.

Kun-Loon’s hopes and her fears both grew in equal measure as Kagome’s quest drew closer and closer to the end, and, in a cruel twist of fate, it would seem that both outcomes would become reality.

It was a cold winter’s day in January, not long after the turn of the New Year, when a noise from the well house caught Kun-Loon’s attention. She looked out the window just in time to see the glow of the time portal fade away and relief bloomed when she realised that Kagome must finally be back from one of her longest trips yet. However, when no one exited the well house, worry began to seep in and she quickly hurried across the yard to see what was happening.

The sight she was met with broke her heart and would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the well, sobbing helplessly and beating at the ground, was the blood-covered and wounded form of Kagome. Screams of denial and cries for her feudal family fell from her lips in between desperate sobs as she pounded futilely against the ground. Drawn by her shouts, Souta and Grandpa Higurashi came running in and stood by Kun-Loon’s side. Together, the three watched helplessly as their beloved sister, daughter and granddaughter broke before their eyes.

Eventually, Kagome’s shouts and cries ceased, and her energy seemed to vanish as she sat almost lifelessly at the bottom of the well. Working together, the three onlookers managed to get her out of the well and into the house where Kun-Loon helped her daughter wash off the blood and grime of the battle before tending to her wounds and bundling her into bed. The whole time Kagome had been completely unresponsive to the outside world. Her eyes had been dead and unseeing, and she only moved as her mother directed her, otherwise, she just stood there and stared into space. Kun-Loon stayed by Kagome’s side until she fell into an exhausted sleep, her worry for her daughter almost choking her.

While Kagome hadn’t said a word after she stopped screaming for her friends, Kun-Loon had put what facts she knew together and drawn a conclusion from there. Kagome had clearly just come from a battle and she obviously hadn’t returned here willingly, that and the fact that the well would no longer let her pass through led Kun-Loon to one answer – the quest was over, the final battle had just taken place and Kagome had been forcefully returned to her time, for good.

Kun-Loon’s heart broke for her daughter. While her dearest wish had been for her daughter to return safely home and to _stay_ safely home, she knew that Kagome had found another family on the other side of the well, and that if she had the choice after her journey, she would stay there with them. It would seem that it was not to be, however, and instead, Kun-Loon’s wish had been granted in the cruellest of ways. For while her daughter was physically safe, her wounds from her last battle were actually only minor, emotionally was another story entirely. This latest blow seems to have finally broken Kagome’s previously-unbreakable spirit, and Kun-Loon worried that she might never recover.

That had been over three weeks ago now, and while Kagome tried to put on a brave and happy mask for her family, they could all see in her eyes that she was still broken inside. 

Kun-Loon looked outside once more, and her heart broke anew when she saw that Kagome was no longer sweeping the grounds. Instead, she was standing beneath the Goshinboku, head bowed as her forehead rested against its great trunk while one hand reached up to caress the scar left in its bark from when Inuyasha was pinned there all those years ago.

Kun-Loon didn’t need to see the slight trembling of Kagome’s shoulders to know that her daughter was once again fighting back tears. The heart-wrenching sight finally solidified Kun-Loon’s resolve. It was obvious that Kagome would never recover if she stayed here, haunted by the memories of her lost friends and family. She needed a change of scenery, something new to focus on and bring her out of her memories.

Firm with the strength of her new decision, Kun-Loon moved to her bedroom and removed all the items in her bedside table, revealing an old letter she kept carefully stored out of sight at the very back. Opening it gently along well-worn creases, Kun-Loon was met by achingly familiar handwriting, although she did not allow herself to reread the almost-memorized contents of the letter. Instead, her eyes zeroed in immediately on where a phone number was scrawled across the bottom of the page and, moving over to the landline, she carefully dialled the number she had told herself she would never call.


	3. The Phone Call

Alfred had just finished cleaning up after the Masters’ dinner when the mansion’s phone rang. Putting the last plate away in the buffet, Alfred moved swiftly to the closest phone while still maintaining his professional, unhurried appearance.

His interest peaked slightly when he noticed the caller ID showed an international code, but he answered the phone in his typical stately manner nonetheless. “You’ve reached Wayne Manor. This is Alfred Pennyworth speaking. How may I help you?”

“Hi Alfred,” a feminine voice replied, “I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Kun-Loon, and I knew you and Bruce about 17 years ago.”

Alfred’s eyes widened. It may have been 17 long years ago, and a lot may have happened in that time, but he would never forget the bright-eyed Japanese exchange student that Master Bruce had once been smitten with – and he was willing to bet Master Bruce would never forget her either.

“Miss Kun-Loon, of course I remember you. How could I ever forget?” Alfred quickly reassured her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from you, though. Is everything alright?”

A despairing chuckle sounded down the phone and Alfred frowned in concern. “No, not really. Is Bruce available? There’s something I really need to talk to him about.”

Kun-Loon’s voice had been thick with emotion and Alfred’s concern only increased. Whatever this was about, it must be important. “I can go check for you, Miss. Would you mind staying on the line? I won’t be a moment.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Kun-Loon replied, the relief in her voice palpable, and Alfred offered a quick ‘Not a problem, Miss,’ before setting down the phone and going to find Master Bruce.

Fortunately, Alfred was able to intercept him on his way to the hidden entrance to the Batcave before his nightly patrol alongside Young Master Dick. “Sorry to interrupt, Master Bruce, but there is a phone call waiting for you and, if I may be so bold, I think it best that you take it.”

Bruce frowned for a moment, glancing at his butler and friend. Alfred knew he didn’t like to accept calls when he was about to head out to patrol, so for him to interrupt it must be important. “Who is it, Alfred?”

“Miss Kun-Loon, sir. I’m sure you remember her? She sounded a bit upset.”

“Kun-Loon?” Bruce breathed in surprise before hurrying off towards the phone.

“Who’s Kun-Loon?” Dick asked, moving to stand by Alfred as he watched his adopted father hurry off.

Alfred looked at Master Bruce’s young ward for a moment before deciding to fill him in. “She was a Japanese exchange student that came to the same university Master Bruce was at some 17 years ago. The two were quite smitten with each other for a time before the Young Miss was called back to Japan. Apparently, her parents had arranged a marriage for her, and she was forced to cut all contact. This is the first time she’s called since then.”

“Oh,” Dick said, feeling sorry for Bruce and this ‘Kun-Loon’ lady. “Why do you think she’s calling now, then, after all this time?”

“I do not know, Master Dick,” Alfred replied calmly. “I am sure we will find out soon, though.”

Meanwhile, in the other room, Bruce took a calming breath before picking up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hello, Bruce,” Kun-Loon’s familiar voice replied softly. “It’s been a long time.”

“Indeed, it has,” Bruce said, casting around for small talk to avoid an awkward silence. “How are you? And your husband, Kenji, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Kenji,” Kun-Loon confirmed. “Kenji… Kenji died.”

“Oh,” Bruce said in shock, “I’m so sorry for your loss. “Is that why…?” Bruce’s question trailed off slightly awkwardly, the ‘_you’re calling’_ went unsaid but both parties seemed to hear it anyway.

“No, no,” Kun-Loon rushed to clear the misunderstanding. “No, Kenji died almost 10 years ago now – a car crash. No, I’m calling about my daughter, Kagome. She’ll be 16 in a few months, and, well, there’s no easy way to say this, Bruce, but… she’s your daughter, too.”

There was a moment of silence as that shocking sentence slowly sank in. When it did, Bruce felt as if the room was spinning. Grabbing the edge of the phone stand for support, Bruce collapsed in the nearest chair and choked out a strangled, “What?”

Kun-Loon rushed to explain – partly because she knew from experience that Bruce liked to know all the facts about a situation, and partly just nervous babble.

“A few weeks after I returned to Japan, I noticed a few symptoms and I went to the doctor just in case. They confirmed my suspicions – I was pregnant. My parents were furious and almost disowned me – it could have, and 99% of the time would have, broken the marriage agreement and brought great shame upon my family. But Kenji said he would still like to marry me anyway. He said he’d always wanted a family and this just gave him a head start. He said that even though the child wasn’t his, he wouldn’t love it any less than he would his own. The only caveat was that I could never contact you again. And he kept his word. He was so good to me and he gave Kagome his name and named her his firstborn and everything, and he loved her so much. And then I fell pregnant again and he was so excited, but he still made sure Kagome knew that he would love her and her soon-to-be sibling equally and we were all so happy. But a few months before Souta, my son, was born he was in a car accident and died. I thought about contacting you then, but, well, honestly you were a bit of a playboy at that stage, and Kagome was still only young, and I was about to have Souta and I just couldn’t deal with it then. And on top of that I felt guilty that I had never found a way to tell you before then, and the longer I left it the heavier the guilt became until I refused to even think of it anymore and I am so, so sorry and I understand if you never forgive me but please I need your help,” Kun-Loon babbled, a sob almost overtaking her. While her explanation started out calm and methodical, by the end she was talking in a frantic rush, desperate for his help. Kun-Loon took a second to take a few breaths and get her emotions back under control before going back to her explanation.

“Kagome, I already said this, but she’ll be 16 soon. On the 2nd of March. She’s such a beautiful girl, Bruce, and I love her so, so much. Even if you hate me now for not telling you, I still have to say, thank for giving me my beautiful daughter. She got her height from my side of the family I’m afraid, only 5’2” to your 6’2”. She’s got my face, but she’s got your black hair and beautiful blue eyes. She’s always been energetic and lively, and she is so unbelievably kind. She’s got this inner light in her that just draws people in. She’s strong and protective and so many other amazing things and I am so proud of her and I know you would be, too. 

“But things have been rough, lately. There’s only so much I can tell you. It’s not my place for one, and I only know part of the story for another. Kagome is the only person who can tell you the truth, but I’ll do my best to explain what I can. About two years ago, Kagome… went on a trip. And while she was away, she met this group of people, and they all became really good friends. She went to see them many times over the last two years, and they became like her second family. She loved them so much, and she had so many stories about them all. I fully expected her to move to live with her new friends someday soon. But something happened. About three weeks ago now, Kagome came back home from her last trip and she’s been… broken ever since. I don’t know what happened, Kagome refuses to talk about, but from what I’ve gathered, she can never go see her friends, her second _family_, again. And on top of that, I think at least one of them… at least one of them is dead.”

Bruce drew in a sharp breath at that, but Kun-Loon kept talking, unable to stop now that she had started until she fully explained why she had called in the first place. “Kagome has always had such a strong spirit; she’s been through a lot, but she’s always remained bright and strong and so full of life. I thought nothing could ever break her. But ever since she came back three weeks ago, her eyes have just been… dead. She tries to put on a happy mask for our sake, but the spark in her eyes is just… gone. She has nightmares almost every night, and every day she just goes through the motions of living. Whatever happened broke her, and I’ve tried to give her time, but it’s become obvious to me that she’ll never recover while she stays here – there are just too many memories here that are dragging her down. So that’s why I called you. I know I have no right to ask you this, Bruce, but please, can Kagome come stay with you for a while? She needs something to drag her out of her memories and back to the present, and I think a change of scenery and new people will do that. I know you have no obligation to do so, but please Bruce, please help our daughter.”

Kun-Loon finally fell silent, her last plea hanging in the air as Bruce tried to come to terms with everything she had just revealed.

“This… this is very out of the blue, Kun-Loon,” Bruce replied, thrown off by the multiple bombshells Kun-Loon had just dropped and trying desperately to regain his footing. “Have you talked to Kagome about all this?”

“No,” Kun-Loon denied. “I wanted to talk to you first, see if you were willing to take her and get to know your daughter before I told her that Kenji wasn’t her father. She’s already so emotionally fragile right now, I didn’t want to tell her that the man she so loved wasn’t really her father, that her real father was actually still alive, only to find out he wanted nothing to do with her. And I don’t blame you if you don’t Bruce, you have no obligation to any of us, but I don’t think _she_ would be able to handle that if I had told her first, you know?”

“I understand,” Bruce reassured before giving a soft sigh, still slightly overwhelmed. “And she really is my daughter?”

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Kun-Loon confirmed, a slight smile detectable in her voice. “Her eyes look just like yours, such a beautiful blue.”

“Right, ok,” Bruce blew out a fortifying breath, deciding honesty was his best policy here, “I’m going to need some time to wrap my head around all this, but I understand where you’re coming from, Kun-Loon. I am a little hurt that I never knew before now, but I understand why. I wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility until recently.”

“Yes, I saw on the news that you had adopted a young boy a few years ago. Richard, wasn’t it?” Kun-Loon replied, the relief that he understood and didn’t seem to hate her making her weak at the knees.

“Yes, but he prefers Dick. He’s a great kid and I love him like a son.”

“I’m glad for you, Bruce,” Kun-Loon said warmly. “You deserve a loving family.”

“Thank you,” Bruce replied before coming to a decision. “Hopefully he and Kagome will get along well.”

Bruce let that sentence sink in for a moment before there was a gasp from the other end of the line. “You mean…?” Kun-Loon asked, scarcely daring to hope.

“Yes, she can come stay with me for a while. In fact, you all can if you want, you know I have the space. I can’t leave Gotham at the moment, but if you let me know a date I can send my plane for you.”

“Oh, thank you, Bruce, thank you, thank you,” Kun-Loon gushed before sobering slightly. “I’d really love to come see you again, truly, but my father-in-law is really too old for such a journey, and someone has to stay and look after both him and the shrine. If it’s alright with you, though, I think Souta, my son I told you about, might like to take you up on your offer. He’s only ten but he’s very well behaved. He really loves and looks up to Kagome, you see, and he’s missed her a lot over the last two years – she wasn’t really home much. On top of that, he’s just as worried about her as I am. I don’t think he’s ready to let her leave without him again, especially with the state she’s currently in.”

“I understand, Kun-Loon, don’t worry. He’s more than welcome to come stay with his sister. He sounds like a good kid, worrying about her like that. When were you thinking of sending them over?”

“Is three days from now too soon?” Kun-Loon asked. “I need some time to explain all this to both of them and to help them pack, but, at the same time, I don’t want to give Kagome too much time to dwell on it and try and think of a reason not to go. She’s clinging to the memories of her lost friends here, and she needs to get away from it for her own good, even if she may not see that right away.”

“Three days is fine, Kun-Loon. I’ll have Alfred arrange the flight and let you know the exact details. Everything will be ok, Kun-Loon,” Bruce reassured her.

“Thank you so much for doing this, Bruce. You have no idea how much this means to me. I have to go now, Kagome is coming back inside.”

“Of course. Goodbye, Kun-Loon.”

“Bye, Bruce.” And with that, they both hung up. 

Bruce let out a long sigh and slumped forward, his face in his hands as the reality of the situation washed over him once again.

The room was silent for a few minutes before the door to the other room slowly opened to reveal Alfred, a curious Dick hovering behind him.

“Is everything alright, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked gently.

“I honestly don’t know, Alfred,” Bruce sighed before looking up, a lost look in his eyes. “Apparently, I have a daughter.”


	4. The Talk

Kagome had been sweeping the grounds of the shrine like she had every morning since her unwilling return in an effort to keep moving, to keep living, for she knew that if she allowed herself to truly stop then her grief would overwhelm her and she would never start again. And, just like every morning, she found herself standing once more beneath the boughs of the Goshinboku, despite her attempts to avoid it - her feet were automatically drawn to its great presence. So many times the massive tree had been a source of comfort, had brought solace during troubled times, but there was no comfort to be found under its shade now. Before, the tree had been a symbol of her connection to the past, and all those who she loved and supported there, and who loved and supported her in turn, and she drew strength from that. Now, while the tree brought to mind the same feelings and memories, it was no longer a source of strength but a constant, aching reminder of her loss.

That loss crashed over her once again as she stood before the mighty tree, and she tipped forward slightly to let her forehead rest against its sturdy trunk. Her hand came up of its own accord to caress the mark that showed where her best friend was once pinned – the start of her whole journey.

Kagome was unsure how long, exactly, she stayed like that, fighting against the grief that threatened to overwhelm her once more. It was always there, these days, waiting for her to let her guard down. 

Eventually, she gathered herself once more and pulled herself away from the Goshinboku. Quickly finishing sweeping the last of the yard, Kagome put her broom away and made her way back to the house. Kagome entered the house just in time to see her mother hanging up the phone. Her eyes were red and Kagome could smell the salt of her mother’s tears. Looking at her aura, however, showed that the tight ball of worry that had been a constant in her mother’s aura for far too long and had only grown in the last three weeks was overshadowed by a wave of relief and hope.

“Mom?” Kagome asked, confused by the conflicting information her senses were telling her. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, dear, I’m ok,” Kun-Loon reassured her before a tinge of apprehension began to suffuse her aura. “Could you please get your brother for me? There is something I need to talk to you both about.”

“Ok, Mom,” Kagome answered hesitantly, concerned by the apprehension her mother was feeling about this upcoming talk.

Once Kagome had managed to shake her brother out of bed and drag him downstairs, the three gathered in the living room, sitting around the kotatsu table.

“Ok,” Kun-Loon blew out a breath. “I better get this started. I was going to tell you about this when you turned 15, Kagome, but with everything that was happening, I decided to wait. So, have I ever told you two about how your father and I came to be married?”

Kagome and Souta both shook their heads with matching bewildered expressions – what did this have to do with anything?

“Well, we didn’t marry out of love like most people do these days. It was an arranged marriage.”

Both Kagome and Souta’s eyes blew wide at this admission. “But Mom,” Souta protested, “you’ve always told us how much you loved Dad, and how much he loved you.”

“And it was the truth,” Kun-Loon reassured her children. “We loved each other very much, although it paled in comparison to how much we loved the two of you,” Kun-Loon said, smiling lovingly at her two children. “But the love came after we were married, not before.”

“Now before we were married, your father, obviously, lived here, at the Higurashi shrine. And I lived at a smaller shrine on the other side of Tokyo that had been in my family for generations, just like this shrine has belonged to the Higurashi’s. And my parents were a lot like your Grandfather, they were very traditional people who held to the old ways. Now, when I was 20, I was studying at university and I took advantage of the university’s Student Exchange Program to spend a year studying at a university in Gotham City in America.”

“No way, you’ve been to America, Mom?” Souta exclaimed excitedly. “You never told us that! What was it like? Is that why you made us learn English and why you were already so good at it?”

Kun-Loon chuckled at her son’s antics before trying to get her story back on track. “Yes, it is, and it was a wonderful experience, but I’ll tell you about it later, ok? Now, what I didn’t know was that while I was in America my parents had started talking to your father’s parents to arrange our marriage. They wanted to keep the traditions of both our shrines going strong and felt that combining our families was the best way to do that. But what _they_ didn’t know was that while I was in America, I had met a very kind and handsome young man and we had started dating.”

Kagome’s eyes widened as she started to get a sinking suspicion of where this story was heading. Souta, on the other hand, was too wrapped up in the unfolding drama that was apparently his mother’s life to look at the possible conclusion. Kun-Loon noticed her daughter’s look of comprehension, but continued on with her story nonetheless.

“I don’t know if what we had would have lasted or if it was just ‘young love’, but at the time we were very taken with each other. When it came time for me to return to Japan we had decided that we were going to keep in contact and try at a long-distance relationship. He also came from a very rich family so he said he could fly over to visit quite frequently. However, when I got home it was to find an arranged marriage waiting for me, and I was forced to break our relationship off. Plans were already being made for the wedding to be held rather soon as, in both our parents’ opinions, there was no reason to wait. Before the wedding could take place, though, I had noticed a few things and gone to a doctor for a check-up, and what I discovered shocked everyone. I was pregnant.”

Silence fell over the table as Kagome and Souta both processed what this meant. Kagome was the first to speak up, a fragile, lost look in her eyes. “So what you’re saying is, Dad… wasn’t really my dad?”

“Oh, Kagome,” Kun-Loon cooed, moving around the table and bundling her daughter into a hug. “He may not have biologically been your father, but you were his daughter nonetheless and he loved you as such.”

“The fact that I was pregnant with another man’s child could have easily meant that the marriage was cancelled and my family and I shamed, but your father decided he didn’t care. I was going to be his wife and you were going to be his child, regardless of the truth. He knew before you were born that you weren’t technically his, but he gave you his family name, called you his firstborn, and loved you all the same and that never changed. Even when we found out that Souta was coming, he didn’t love you any less. He was just as excited about Souta’s upcoming birth as he was about yours.”

“I remember,” Kagome said softly with a wistful smile. “He spent hours talking with me about all the things I could help teach you, Souta, once you were old enough. And all the games the three of us could play together, and how it was my responsibility as the big sister to look after you, Souta, but how it was his responsibility as our father to look after both of us.” A single tear trickled down Kagome’s cheek as she got lost in her fond memories of her father while a watery smile appeared on Souta’s face at hearing another story about the dad he never knew. 

“But, Mom,” Kagome asked, breaking the quiet that had fallen over the table, “why are you telling us all this now?”

“Because the person you just saw me finish speaking on the phone to was your biological father, Kagome,” Kun-Loon told her gently. “I’ve asked, and he’s agreed, to let you stay with him for a little while.”

“What?!” Kagome cried, jerking out of her mother’s embrace. “You’re sending me away? Why?!”

“Well, part of it is so you can get to know him a little,” Kun-Loon answered, placing a calming hand against her daughter’s cheek. “But mostly, Kagome… you’re hurting. And you need time and space to heal. And you aren’t going to get that here. I don’t _want_ to send you away – I only just got you back, after all – but more importantly, I want you to be _happy_, and that isn’t going to happen if you just stay here. There are too many painful memories weighing you down. I think a change of scenery is what you need right now. Do you understand?”

Kagome looked deep into her mother’s eyes, seeing the potent mix of love, worry and concern that had led to this decision, and knew that her mother was doing this because it was truly what she felt was best. “I understand, Mom.”

“I love you, Kagome,” Kun-Loon whispered into Kagome’s hair, wrapping her up tight in a hug once more.

“I love you, too, Mom,” Kagome replied, snuggling into her mother’s warmth.

“Wait,” Souta interrupted, a devastated look on his face, “so, Sis is going away again?”

“Don’t worry, Souta,” Kun-Loon reassured her son. “You won’t be left behind this time. I have to stay here to look after Grandpa, but I’ve spoken to Bruce and he said you’re more than welcome to go with Kagome to stay with him for a while.”

She watched with a smile as a huge grin broke out on Souta’s face. “So Kagome and I both get to go to America? Awesome!” he shouted. Kagome, however, was focused on different things.

“So my father’s name is Bruce?” she asked.

“Yes, it is,” Kun-Loon answered, a wickedly mischievous glint in her eye. _‘Time for the final bombshell. This is going to be hilarious!’_ “Bruce Wayne.”

Kun-Loon sat back with an incredibly fox-like smile, watching as both her children’s faces went slack with shock before what she said finally processed.

“WHAT?!!” they both shrieked. “SIS IS/I’M THE DAUGHTER OF A BILLIONAIRE?!!!”


	5. A Long Flight

Three days later, Kagome and Souta were all packed and ready for their flight to America, sitting in the most luxurious plane that Souta had ever seen. They’d already said goodbye to their mom and grandpa, now they were just waiting for the pre-flight checks to finish before it was time for take-off!

It had been a hectic few days since their mom had dropped those bombshells on the siblings, but Souta understood why she’d made it that way. While his mom had been helping him pack, she’d apologised for the rush but explained that she didn’t want to give time for Kagome to overthink it, that she may not realise it yet, but his sister needed this trip. 

Looking over to the girl seated beside him, Souta understood. Over the last three days, Kagome had been more lively than she had ever been since her final trip – mainly because they were all in such a rush to get everything ready that she didn’t have _time_ to get lost in the grief that was always lurking in the shadows of her eyes now. Even now that they could finally relax, the prospect of the trip ahead and the upcoming meeting with her biological father was enough to keep the shadows at bay.

Souta was glad. It always hurt when Kagome was away on the other side of the well, but he’d rather she was there and happy than the way she is now. It just wasn’t _right_ seeing bright, happy, _strong_ Kagome looking so sad, shadowed and broken. However, it looked like his Mom was right once again and this trip was just what Kagome needed to start bringing her back to her usual self. The fact that he was going to _America,_ and he was going to meet _Bruce Wayne,_ and they were going to Gotham, home of _the_ Batman, and they might get to meet _superheroes_ (although Kagome was the biggest superhero in Souta’s eyes)… well, those were all just added bonuses, weren’t they?

Unable to stand the silence in the face of his bubbling excitement any longer, Souta turned to his sister, questions tumbling from his lips in a hyperactive rush. “So do you think we’ll meet anyone from the Justice League?”

“The Justice League?” Kagome replied blankly. “What’s that?”

“You don’t know what the Justice League is?!” screeched Souta in horror.

“No?” Kagome replied cautiously, eyebrow raised at her brother’s over-the-top theatrics.

“But they’re the most awesome thing in the history of awesome!! After you, of course,” Souta assured quickly.

“Yes, well, I’m guessing this ‘League’ is based in America?” Kagome asked. Upon receiving Souta’s enthusiastic nod of confirmation, Kagome continued in a sardonic tone, the playful smirk on her lips and the mischievous glint in her eyes letting Souta know that she was teasing him, “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been rather _busy_ the last two years. I barely knew what was happening at school, let alone what was happening in _America_.”

“Yeah, ok, so you’re seriously out of the loop,” Souta waved a hand dismissively, continuing in the teasing vein. “Well then, allow your awesome little brother to fill you in on all you need to know about the Justice League!”

With that, the two whiled away the hours discussing America’s team of superheroes. At first, Souta was a little surprised at how interested Kagome actually was in the topic, but then he realised that the League’s ideals probably greatly appealed to her massive protective streak, and that she had basically been a superhero of the feudal era.

Now there was an idea: Kagome as a superhero. She definitely had the skills for it, in Souta’s humble opinion, and her demon appearance would work as a much better disguise than some flimsy domino mask.

But no, Souta shook his head slightly to cut off that train of thought, the whole point of this trip was to get away from all that – a clean slate, as it were. No talk of demons or fighting or super awesome abilities. Mom had warned them that she hadn’t told Bruce about the well, or the jewel, or demons, or anything really. It was up to Kagome how much she wanted to reveal, and she had said she wanted everything to stay a secret so a secret it would stay. 

Even _if_ Sis would be a totally badass superhero.

Dick’s leg bounced impatiently, waiting for a glimpse of the plane he knew should be in sight any minute now. 

After Bruce had dropped the bombshell of him having a daughter on him and Alfred, it had taken a moment to comprehend what he was saying. Looking back on the moment, it was the first and only time he had seen Alfred looking utterly gobsmacked and he wished he had taken a photo for posterity’s sake but he had been too shocked himself to even think of it at the time, and by the time he had recovered, Alfred had too.

Bruce had explained the situation as he knew it to them, and he and Bruce proceeded to head for the powerful computers located in the Batcave while Alfred went off to make a pot of tea. Their nightly patrol was abandoned in favour of research, as both knew they no longer had the focus necessary to survive on the streets of Gotham.

He and Bruce spent several hours looking up the Higurashi family. A photo of Kagome confirmed that she really did have Bruce’s eyes, lending credence to Kun-Loon’s claim, not that Bruce really needed the extra evidence – the date of birth was plenty. They both spent a few minutes staring at that photo, actually. One taking in the sight of his apparent-daughter, and the other his… adopted sister?… who was, to his newly teenaged mind, really pretty.

After that was where things got complicated. Kagome’s school records showed a massive string of absences over the last two years, attributed to a frankly ridiculous list of outrageous diseases. However, there were no hospital records or even basic doctors appointments to back up _any_ of these claims. Nor was there any evidence of her trips to see her mysterious friends, or even evidence _of_ said friends in the first place. The last two years of her life appeared to be a giant question mark. They were unable to find anything to explain it, something that irked the two detectives to no end.

It appeared that Kun-Loon was once again correct in her claim that only Kagome could tell them her story. However, if she was as traumatised as Kun-Loon had made it sound, then neither of them were holding out hope that that would happen anytime soon. They would have to build up trust, first.

Barring the mystery that surrounded Kagome, though, Dick was really excited. If this meeting went well then he’d be getting two new siblings! An older sister _and_ a younger brother! How awesome was that? Now, when Wally and Roy came over, he wouldn’t be the youngest anymore!

Leg starting to bounce once again, Dick glanced over to where Bruce was sitting. It had been a bit of a rush the last few days. They had either been making sure everything was prepared for the incoming visitors or determinedly trying to find any comprehensible information about Kagome’s last two years (needless to say, they failed), and as such the fact that _Bruce’s daughter_ was coming to visit hadn’t truly had a chance to sink in. Although, judging by the barely veiled panic on Bruce’s face, it was clearly doing so now.

“Hey,” Dick broke into Bruce’s no doubt spiralling thoughts, “she’s probably just as nervous about meeting you as you are about meeting her. Just relax, ok? It’ll be fine!”

Thankfully, Dick’s bright smile and cheery optimism seemed to do the trick. Bruce’s face relaxed and his shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension. Just in time, too, because Dick could finally see the plane approaching for landing. Just a little bit longer now!


	6. First Impressions

Kagome’s ears popped as the plane started its descent to land and she fiddled nervously with her necklace. She was going to meet her _biological father_. They’d both only just found out about each other three days ago, and now they were meeting and going to live together?! It was too much. It was way too much. Kagome couldn’t do this. Kagome _couldn’t do this!_

Thankfully, Souta managed to drag himself away from being plastered to the window in time to notice Kagome’s impending meltdown and snap her out of it.

“Calm down, Sis, it’ll be fine! I know he’ll love you, everyone does!! There’s nothing to worry about, ok?” Souta reassured before trying to redirect her panicking thoughts. “Besides, we’re in America! Think of all the cool things we can do and see while we’re here!”

Kagome took a few deep breaths as her brother’s words washed over her. “Thanks, brat,” Kagome said, ruffling his hair, the teasing smirk on her lips at odds with the heartfelt look in her eyes. Kagome laughed at his indignant squawk as he tried to fix his hair before she turned once more to look out the window and sank back into her thoughts.

Ok, so, she was going to America. Which, like Souta said, was pretty cool. She’d always wanted to travel there when she was a kid, but with everything that had happened over the last two years, she’d had no time for such thoughts and had honestly kind of forgotten about it. So the fact that she was going _now_ was totally out of the blue and a childhood dream brought to life… if only she could ignore one, glaring fact.

She was going to meet her biological father. Who was Bruce _freaking_ Wayne! She could maybe handle one or the other, but the fact that he was both? Yeah, it was freaking her out a bit. I mean, she was the daughter of _Bruce Wayne_, billionaire playboy. She honestly wasn’t sure how she felt about that. 

The billionaire thing she could hardly care less about, she didn’t care about his money, although just the thought of the paparazzi made her shudder. But the playboy thing? When she’d had a small break in her rush to pack, she had quickly gotten on her computer and googled her father and what she found really gave her mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was involved with all sorts of charities and relief foundations which made her surprisingly proud, but on the other hand, he was with at least two different women at every event!

Her mom had found her then, staring at her computer with a twisted look on her face, and had a comforting chat with her about her newly discovered father. She had reminded her of one of the first things she’d learned in the Feudal Era – not everything was as it appeared to be. During the conversation, her mom had seemed to know _something_ about Bruce that caused her to dismiss the highly compelling evidence of his playboy tendencies out of hand, and she seemed to have a surprisingly high opinion of his character.

Her mom had also told her that she hadn’t informed Bruce about anything to do with her journey and that it was up to Kagome how many and what secrets she chose to reveal – key of which was that his newly found daughter was actually part demon. Her mom had assured her that Bruce would be able to handle the knowledge of the existence of demons, but it was ultimately up to her to inform him.

Kagome trusted her mom’s judgement, and as such was willing to give her father the benefit of the doubt when it came to the playboy thing, but when it came to her many secrets Kagome had decided to keep a firm lid on _everything_. Her mom may have a surprising amount of trust in Bruce, but until Kagome could say the same he was staying in the dark. Which meant she would be wearing her glamour charm almost 24/7 while she was in Gotham.

Noticing her thoughts starting to head towards the spiral she was trapped in before, Kagome forcefully wrenched them onto a different track. So, not only was she going to meet her biological father, but she was also going to meet her adopted brother, a boy by the name of Richard Greyson, although her mom had told her he preferred the nickname ‘Dick’.

Kagome was actually looking forward to meeting her new little brother and was really hoping that they would get along well. Glancing once more at where Souta was plastered to his window, she knew he was just as excited to meet Dick as she was, if not more so. Kagome had a feeling that the two boys would get along like a house on fire, and she was really happy for her brother. She knew he had been extremely worried about her over the last two years as she went on her adventures, but this was one adventure that he could go with her on every step of the way.

As the plane finally touched the tarmac, Kagome braced herself for the impending meeting. Drawing on the lessons Sesshomaru had started teaching her about demon politics, Kagome pulled an impassive mask onto her face as she straightened her posture to stand tall and proud. She was the Shikon Miko, the Miko no Mao, she was the Sister of Sesshomaru and a Daughter of the West, and she could handle meeting her father!

After the plane had finally pulled to a stop and started powering down, Bruce and Dick made their way out of the waiting lounge and onto the tarmac in order to meet the arriving siblings at the base of the stairs that had just been wheeled up to the plane’s door. The door swung open and two figures could be seen standing in the doorway, one shorter than the other. Together, the two siblings cautiously made their way down the slightly steep staircase, holding hands the entire way. 

It was only when they had made it to the bottom of the stairs that Bruce could really get a good look at them, and he froze at the sight of his daughter. Objectively, Bruce knew from her photos what she looked like, but to see it in person, to see his eyes staring out of Kun-Loon’s face, it took his breath away.

Kagome stood tall and proud with her chin tilted up almost challengingly, but while her expression was impassive and even somewhat indifferent, her eyes and the white-knuckled grip she had on her brother’s hand gave her away – she was just as nervous about this meeting as he was. Somehow, knowing that seemed to ease some of his own nerves and he was able to give the pair a welcoming smile.

“Hello Kagome, Souta. I’m Bruce Wayne and this is my ward, Dick. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he greeted them warmly, hoping to ease some of the tension.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Wayne-san, Dick-kun,” Kagome replied politely.

“Please, just call me Bruce,” Bruce protested, pulling a slight face. “Wayne-san is…”

“Bruce-san, then,” Kagome agreed with an understanding nod.

With the pleasantries over, it seemed that Souta could no longer contain his excitement and he crashed in on the conversation. “Are you really _the_ Bruce Wayne?” he asked, almost bouncing in place.

Dick took that as his cue to no longer hold back either and joined in boisterously. “He sure is,” he confirmed. “And I take it you are my new little brother. I have two friends who are like my brothers, but they’re both older than me. It’ll be nice not being the youngest anymore.”

“Really? Who are they? What are they like?” Souta babbled.

As the two boys took over the conversation talking about Dick’s friends, Wally and Roy, Kagome and Bruce stood to the side and listened to the two bond. Bruce was glad that the two boys were so easily getting along, and judging by the soft smile on Kagome’s face as she watched them, she was too.

Catching her eye, she and Bruce shared a soft look, acknowledging the warmth they both felt as their boys chatted happily away, before Bruce gestured in the direction that their car was waiting for them. “Shall we go?” he asked gently so as not to disrupt the boys. “Your luggage should all have been moved to the car by now.”

“Lead the way,” Kagome replied, her mask still dropped in favour of that warm look. As the two started walking, Kagome called over her shoulder for her brother who started to follow along with Dick, neither boy even pausing their conversation.

The four crawled into the back of the limo, Bruce and Dick sitting side by side on one bench while Souta and Kagome sat next to each other on the opposite side, facing them, and the car pulled away from the curb. Kagome seemed content to just sit back and listen to the boys talk and Bruce took the chance to more closely observe his daughter.

It appeared that, while a few aspects of her appearance came from him, for the most part, she took after her mother. Her black hair must have come from him as Kun-Loon was a brunette, but black hair was a fairly common feature in Japan, unlike her obviously-foreign blue eyes. While the eyes were clearly his, and he could see a slight hint of himself around the nose, the rest of her facial features definitely came from Kun-Loon. Just looking at her face in a crowd, nobody who didn’t know him well would think that she was obviously his daughter.

Taking in the rest of her appearance, Bruce noted that she was obviously healthy and exercised a lot. She appeared to favour a simplistic form of dress, clad in a simple pair of jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt, with a warm jumper laying in her lap. Bruce did note a glint of silver around her wrist coming from a delicate-looking charm bracelet, however, along with a gold crescent moon pendant hanging from a black choker around her neck that she was even now playing with in what appeared to be an unconscious habit.

Looking back at her face, Bruce once again found himself drawn to her striking blue eyes that were currently focused on the chatting boys sitting at their sides. Kagome’s eyes were not merely an eye-catching shade of blue, they were a clear window to her very soul. Bruce had noticed it from the moment they met – even though she had tried to shield herself with an expressionless mask, her eyes had clearly revealed the nervous anxiety she had been feeling. Even now they bared her emotions for those who cared to look.

Right now, they were filled with a gentle warmth to see her brother so obviously happy. But Bruce could see dark shadows lurking in their depths, shadows he recognised with his own eyes. Kagome was filled with a crushing grief that had the potential to overwhelm her if she would let it, and Bruce wanted nothing more at that moment than to wash those shadows away.

He knew, however, that the only thing he could do for his newly-discovered daughter at the moment was offer her a safe haven while time washed away her wounds.


	7. Wayne Manor

It was a surprisingly pleasant car ride to the place she and Souta would be staying for an undetermined amount of time. Any chance of an awkward silence was washed away by the excited babble of young boys. Kagome’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, however, at the sight of the _mansion_ that rolled into view at the end of their journey, and even Souta’s non-stop chatter faded away to stare, jaw dropped, out the window.

The car pulled up right before the massive front doors and an elderly gentleman in a well-kept suit made his way smartly down the stairs to open the car door for them. Once they had all exited the car, Bruce made introductions.

“Kagome, Souta, I’d like you to meet Alfred Pennyworth, our butler.”

“Welcome to Wayne Manor, Miss Kagome, Master Souta,” Alfred greeted in his typical, dignified manner. “If there is anything I can do to assist you during your stay here, please don’t hesitate to ask. I shall have your luggage delivered to your rooms shortly.”

“Oh, ah,” Kagome flustered, unsure how to proceed. On the one hand, she knew from her visit to Sesshomaru’s castle that she should let the manservant take care of it, but on the other, it appeared as though he would be the only one moving the heavy luggage despite being an… elderly fellow. “Are you sure? I can take mine. I know for a fact that it’s rather heavy.”

“That’s ‘cos you tried to cram everything you owned inside it!” Souta called out cheekily. “I told you you were packing too much!”

“Yeah, well,” Kagome blustered, flushing red in embarrassment, “like you’re one to talk! Trying to pack all of your video games.”

Souta stuck his tongue out at Kagome in childish retaliation, only to be distracted by Dick.

“You like to play video games? Cool! What’s your favourite?...” and the two boys were in a world of their own once more, this time in a discussion of the wonders of virtual worlds.

Bruce chuckled at the three kids’ antics before steering things back on track. “That’s kind of you to offer, Kagome, but it’s alright. I assure you, Alfred can handle it. Come on, I’ll give you both a tour before I leave you to settle in.”

“If you say so,” Kagome agreed somewhat dubiously, but she followed Bruce inside nonetheless.

Bruce led the three kids around all the important rooms of the manor, Dick and Souta’s conversation on hold for the time being so that Souta could focus on his surroundings. While the youngest Higurashi sibling was in constant awe of his surroundings, Kagome showed an odd level of focus as Bruce led the way.

Noticing his curious look, Kagome offered a rueful smile. “I’m horrible at directions,” she admitted with a faint blush. “And, well, I can’t exactly rely on him to remember where to go,” she continued, jerking her head in Souta’s direction where the young boy had gotten distracted yet again, oohing over a decorative suit of armour while Dick watched on amusedly. “You’re… probably going to have to come looking for us a few times. Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Bruce assured with a laugh. “I know how big this place can be, and I well remember the number of times I had to track Dick down when he first came here. It’s no trouble.”

The tour finally drew to a close in front of the siblings’ new rooms that were across the hall from one another.

“Alright, here we are,” Bruce said, gesturing with his hands while he spoke. “Kagome, your room is on the left. Souta, you’re on the right. If you’re looking for either of us, Dick’s room is around the corner and to the left,” Bruce continued, gesturing back the way they came, “and I’m at the end of the hall. We’ll leave you to unpack and settle in. Dinner should be in about two hours. Dick or I will come and get you beforehand so that you don’t get lost on your first day,” Bruce finished with an acknowledging smile at a relieved-looking Kagome.

As Bruce turned to go, however, Kagome quickly called out causing him to stop in his tracks. “Ah, Bruce-san,” she asked slightly hesitantly, “would it be ok if we used your phone to call our mom and let her know we arrived safely?”

“Of course,” Bruce agreed warmly. “You can call home whenever you wish. You might want to wait until after dinner, though. Because of the time difference, I think your mom will still be asleep at this hour.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kagome realised with a blush, “I forgot about that. Thank you, Bruce-san.”

“You’re welcome, Kagome. I’ll see you for dinner.” With that, Bruce and Dick finally left the two siblings on their own in the hall. They stood there in silence for a moment until Souta’s excitement couldn’t take it anymore.

“Come on, Sis,” he called, grabbing her wrist and dragging her through the door that Bruce had indicated was his. “Let’s check out our new rooms!”

After a quick exploration of Souta’s bedroom followed by Kagome’s revealed that the two had very similar, simplistic but well-furnished layouts with attached ensuites and walk-in-robes, Kagome managed to chivvy Souta back into his own room to start unpacking before flopping back on her bed.

It had been a long three days and an even longer flight to get here and Kagome was exhausted. The anxiety she had been feeling over meeting her biological father had also left her emotionally wrung out. However, looking back on it, as far as first meetings go it hadn’t been too bad.

It was clear that Bruce had been nervous about meeting her and didn’t really know what to talk to her about, but that was ok because she felt exactly the same way. What mattered was that, despite not really knowing what to do, he was still trying, and he was doing his best to make sure both she and Souta felt welcomed.

Kagome could tell it wasn’t just an act, either. His aura was completely genuine, which was a big point in Bruce’s favour and lent credence to her mother being right about Bruce’s character after all, despite what the tabloids might say.

Shaking her head firmly, Kagome put a halt to that train of thought before she could spiral into a series of ‘what if’s. Time would tell and that was that. Pulling herself up from the surprisingly comfortable bed, Kagome decided to be productive and get some unpacking done.

Turning to where her giant suitcase and over-stuffed, trusty yellow backpack had been waiting for her just inside her doorway, Kagome began the long process of putting her clothes neatly where they belonged in her walk-in-robe. Souta had been rather accurate with his jab earlier about her trying to pack everything she owned, but it wasn’t her fault! She didn’t know how long they would be staying here or what they would be doing or what the weather would be like so she had tried to pack everything just in case.

Shirts, dresses and skirts were placed on hangers and hung on the appropriate rails while shorts and jeans were folded into drawers. Kagome had found her pyjamas and had placed them under her pillow ready for tonight and had unpacked her toiletries into the ensuite. All in all, she was fairly happy with the progress she was making and was about halfway unpacked when she lifted another shirt only to find a photo album carefully packed underneath it.

Kagome’s movements froze, and she slowly and gently reached into her suitcase and picked the photo album up. Shirt abandoned, Kagome moved over to the edge of her bed and sat down on it, eyes completely focused on the book in her lap. One hand lightly ran over the front cover, caressing the designs embossed there, but she didn’t open it. 

Kagome knew all too well what this album contained – it was a photographic record of her journey through the Feudal Era. Photos of her friends and family; places she’d been and people she’d met; it even had a few photos of some of her enemies, taken by accident during one ambush or another. Most important to her, however, was the picture she knew without even looking was on the very first page. It had been taken by a villager in the village of Edo in front of her Grandma Kaede’s hut and it showed her whole family. She had stood in the centre, surrounded by Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Kaede, Rin, Kouga, Ginta, Hakakku, and even Jaken. And held lovingly in her arms was her little Shippo.

It wasn’t until a wet warmth splashed against her hand that Kagome even realised she was crying. Quickly wiping at her eyes, Kagome took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears at bay. The whole reason her mother had sent her here in the first place was so that she could get away from all that. Drying the last of her tears and determinedly shoving her memories and the heartache they brought away once more, Kagome carefully placed the photo album in the drawer of her bedside table – close at hand but out of sight.

It was just in time, too, for as she was closing the drawer a knock sounded from her bedroom door. Scanning the waiting aura, Kagome sensed that it was Bruce on the other side of the door and, after a quick glance at the clock on the wall, realised that he must have come to collect her for dinner.

The meal itself was a quiet affair. It was just the four of them at the table – Bruce explained that Alfred, as the butler, refused to eat with the Masters and their guests as he felt it wasn’t his place, despite everyone’s protests to the contrary over the many years he had been in the Wayne family’s employ.

The stress of the last three days combined with the inner turmoil Kagome had wrestled with just before coming down had left her emotionally wrung out, and the jet lag was finally catching up to both her and Souta, leaving both of them slightly listless and disinclined for active conversation. That combined with the fact that neither side really knew _what _to say to the other lead to a slightly tense, highly awkward, completely silent dinner.

Afterwards, Bruce showed the siblings to a sitting room with a phone that they could use to call their mother whenever they wished, although he did remind them not to forget the time difference when they chose to do so. After a quick call home to reassure their mom that they had arrived safely and everything was ok, the two returned to their rooms and said goodnight.

Kagome quickly went through her nightly routine to prepare for bed before eagerly collapsing face-first into her new, queen-sized bed where she almost immediately fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.


	8. The Nightmare

_The sounds of fighting and battle-cries echoed around the clearing as the most important fight Kagome had ever been in finally took place – the Final Battle. Everyone there knew the significance of this battle, and what the final results would mean. A victory would mean peace and no more fighting. A loss would mean death to them all._

_The battle seemed to blur before Kagome’s eyes, she could not tell how much time had passed, nor who she was fighting. All she was aware of was the release of another arrow, the swing of her sword, the slash of her claws, over and over and over again, while above it all echoed the chilling sound of Naraku’s cruel laughter._

_Suddenly, the din of battle was replaced with a sudden hush and everything seemed to freeze. Kagome was able to see clearly for the first time in what felt like hours, but she wished that she couldn’t, she wished that her eyes were wrong._

_Standing in front of her, arms spread out, physically shielding her body with his own, was Inuyasha. And piercing him straight through his chest was one of Naraku’s giant tentacles. He had seen the blow aiming for Kagome and took it in her place, saving her life at the cost of his own._

_Kagome’s eyes widened in horror and his name fell from her lips in a tortured scream. Inuyasha barely mustered the energy to send her one last look, relief that he had managed to save her clear on his face, before Naraku ripped out the tentacle that was simultaneously piercing him and holding him up. Kagome watched as the light left Inuyasha’s eyes and his body collapsed in a boneless heap._

_Cries of denial and pleas for this to not be true spilled from Kagome in an incomprehensible babble before her eyes turned on Naraku with hate. With a scream of pure rage, Kagome threw herself at the vile being and the battle turned into a blur once again._

_The next time Kagome could see clearly, it was to see her sword piercing through Naraku’s heart. With her other hand, she reached out and clawed his half of the Shikon Jewel from his chest. Kagome watched in vicious, bloodthirsty glee as the light left Naraku’s eyes and his body started to turn to ash thanks to the purifying powers Kagome was channelling through her sword._

_When the last of his body was nothing but ash in the wind, Kagome sheathed her sword with a sigh before turning to her friends and family with a relieved, but sad, smile for their victory._

_Kouga, Ginta and Hakakku were all cheering, pounding each other on the back in that way that boys do, unmindful of whatever injuries they possessed. Miroku and Sango were staring in shock at his right hand where the wind tunnel was now gone, before crying out in joy and embracing one another, Kirara standing at their sides. Rin, Shippo, and Jaken, who had been providing air support while staying a safe distance from the heart of the battle, had landed beside Sesshomaru who was looking at her with sorrow-tinged pride. Finally, her eyes fell on the crumpled body of Inuyasha. Tears pricked at her eyes, but there would be time to mourn later. First, she had to finish this._

_Kagome looked at the chunk of the Shikon Jewel in her hand. There were no more pieces left to collect. All of them were either hanging around her neck or right here in her hand. Even the shards Kouga and Kohaku possessed had been returned – Kouga had given her his months ago, and Naraku had ripped out Kohaku’s, once again killing the poor boy._

_Taking a deep breath, Kagome brought the half in her hand and the half hanging around her neck together. Immediately, the two pieces fused together, the Shikon Jewel was whole once more. Kagome’s powers instantly purified the now-whole jewel, turning it pale pink once more, and Kagome released the breath she had been holding, looking up at her companions in relief to find them mirroring her expression._

_That relief lasted for but a moment before an explosion of pink light came from the jewel, completely enveloping Kagome. Her friends and family cried out in alarm, and Kagome tried to call out to them in return. Even though she couldn’t see, she could feel that she was moving away from those she loved, and their names fell from her lips in screams of desperation._

_One cry stood out above all the rest – Shippo, her darling little boy who she was leaving all alone all because of one, blasted jewel – and her heart broke._

_When the light cleared, Kagome was standing at the bottom of the Bone Eater’s Well, back in the Modern Era. As she watched, the jewel faded from existence, finally purified, and the magic from the well disappeared, locking her out of the Feudal Era forever._

_Kagome fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She had lost them all, the realisation crashed over her, and she hadn’t even got to say goodbye! Denial and frustration poured through her, and she began to beat at the ground._

_“No. No! NO!”_

“NO!!” Kagome screamed, jerking upright. Taking in a shuddering breath, Kagome looked at her unfamiliar surroundings, momentarily disoriented. ‘_That’s right_,’ she realised, _‘I’m in America.’_

Kagome bowed her head as her sorrow washed over her anew, the nightmare reminding her once again that she was ripped away and cut off from those she loved. Wiping at her eyes, Kagome took note of three auras clustered on the other side of her door, radiating worry and concern.

Recognizing the auras of Souta, Dick and Bruce, and sighing at the fact that she had caused others to worry about her again, Kagome tiredly called out the all clear that she knew her brother was waiting for.

Bruce and Dick had just snuck back into the house after their nightly patrol. They knew it was a bit of a risk for them to both disappear on the Higurashi siblings’ first night here, but they had already skipped patrol for the last few nights in their rush to prepare and they did not want to allow the criminals of Gotham to relax due to their absence any longer. Besides, they had reasoned that with the obvious jetlag the two had been feeling during dinner, it was unlikely that either of them would be waking up anytime soon.

It was late, and Bruce and Dick were both tired, but just as they were finally approaching their rooms, they heard a voice cry out in wordless distress. Pausing, the two glanced at each other, confused but concerned, before making their way to the rooms where the two Higurashi siblings should be asleep.

As they approached, the cries got louder and their concern grew. Recognising the voice as Kagome’s, the two rushed around the last corner and made to open Kagome’s door.

“Wait, you can’t!” a figure blocking their way cried. Looking through the gloom, they realised that it was Souta standing in front of his sister’s door, a pained look on his face but determinedly barring their entrance nonetheless.

“_Inuyasha, no, please don’t die,”_ Kagome’s voice whimpered through the wood of the door, thick with tears. “_You promised to protect me, remember? You can’t be dead. You can’t be!”_

“Souta?” Bruce asked incredulously. “What are you doing? Your sister is having a nightmare, we have to wake her up!”

“I know!” Souta cried, obviously upset, before taking a deep breath and trying to explain. “I know she’s having a nightmare, and I hate it, but you _can’t_ wake her up.”

“What? Why not?” Dick asked, completely baffled, even as Kagome’s snarled shout of _“Naraku!”_ echoed from the other room.

“Sis has been having these nightmares ever since she came home three weeks ago, and when she first started having them, Mom and I tried to help her and wake her up. But, Sis is a lot stronger than she looks, and when she’s woken in the middle of a nightmare, she tends to react violently before she wakes up enough to realise where she is. She didn’t mean to, but she hurt me and Mom a few times before she made us promise that we would never try to wake her during a nightmare again. We didn't want to agree, we just want to help her, but Sis has always put others’ wellbeing before her own, and it was clear that the terror of the nightmare combined with the guilt of hurting us was just making her feel worse so we had no choice. Now, when she has a nightmare, Mom or I wait outside until we’re sure she’s awake before we offer whatever comfort we can. It’s horrible, and I _hate_ it, but there’s nothing else we can _do_.”

While Souta had talked, desperate cries had flowed from the other side of the door for a long string of names that Bruce didn’t recognize. By the time Souta had finished talking, Bruce and Dick’s eyes were filled with worry and concern for the distressed Kagome, but Bruce’s eyes also looked pained – torn that he couldn’t do anything to help his daughter despite her obvious suffering on the other side of the door.

Finally, there was one final cry of _“NO!”_, louder than all the ones before it, and then silence fell. There was silence for a few minutes before Kagome’s tired voice called out.

“It’s ok, now, Souta.”

Slowly, Souta opened the bedroom door before quickly crossing the room to sit on the bed beside his sister where the two quietly conversed. Bruce could tell from the way she kept her head down and eyes averted that she knew he and Dick were there, but likely felt embarrassed over having disturbed them and the fact they knew she had a nightmare. Taking note of her pale face and the way her hands lightly trembled from where they were clutching the bedspread, Bruce turned and left the two siblings in peace while he went to go make them some hot chocolate.

Dick followed at his elbow, knowing that the siblings needed some privacy but not wanting to head off for bed just yet after what just happened. 

“I know Kun-Loon told you that she had been through a lot,” Dick murmured quietly, Bruce having already informed him of everything Kun-Loon had told him, “and that she thought one of her friends was dead… but that was…”

He trailed off, unable to properly express his thoughts. Bruce seemed to understand exactly what he was trying to say, though, judging by the way his expression tightened.

“And the way she… _snarled_ that one name, ‘Naraku’, it was like he was the enemy. There was so much _hate_. You don’t think… could he have maybe killed this ‘Inuyasha’ guy?”

“I don’t know, Dick,” Bruce sighed, moving about the kitchen as he prepared the drinks. “I’ll try researching those names in the morning, but for now, unless she decides to open up, there’s not much we can do.”

Dick gave a grim nod, not liking being unable to help, but understanding nonetheless. Silently, the two made the trek back to Kagome’s room where Dick waited at the door while Bruce carried the drinks inside.

“Here,” he said gently, placing the tray holding the two mugs onto the bedside table. “I thought this might help.”

“Thank you, Bruce-san,” Kagome said quietly, still looking down in embarrassment. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”

“Not at all,” Bruce reassured her. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

This time Kagome stayed silent, although she did give a small nod of acknowledgement. Bruce gave her one last understanding smile before leaving the two siblings sitting on the bed and closing the door behind him.

He and Dick then finally said goodnight before making their way back to their own rooms and going to bed. Still, Bruce’s night was troubled as he realised just how deeply his daughter was scarred.


	9. Settling In

Time was a funny thing, Kagome had long since learnt. The days seemed to fly by and drag on all at the same time, and before she knew it she had been at Wayne Manor for over a fortnight.

Her nightmares continued to be a constant presence, plaguing the few hours of sleep she managed to grab each night. Her youkai blood meant that she no longer needed as much sleep as she did when she was fully human, but even so, her constantly restless nights took their toll. Light grey crescents seemed to be a permanent presence beneath her eyes these days. Thankfully she was able to hide the evidence of her constant exhaustion beneath the glamour of her human guise.

Things had been a little awkward at breakfast the morning after her first nightmare, but she had quickly discovered that Bruce and Dick were both surprisingly understanding and considerate of her feelings. Looking back on it though, it wasn’t really that surprising. Being a Wayne (whether born or adopted) meant their lives were rather public, and it was well known that both of them had seen their parents die before their eyes, so they likely really did understand her feelings – and her nightmares.

On the positive side, she had slowly started getting closer to both her biological father and her adopted brother. Bruce wasn't always around – the short notice of her visit meant that he hadn’t had the time to clear his schedule so he was constantly going in and out of the manor. However, when he was home, he and Kagome could often be found sitting in front of a crackling fire with a warm drink, just talking about whatever they could think of. It had been rather awkward the first time they sat down together at Alfred’s gentle suggestion (read: veiled command), but as they talked the tension had slowly bled away. They were still slightly cautious and stuck only to safe subjects, but Kagome had come to truly enjoy the bonding time with her father.

Dick was both easier and harder to get close to. Easier, because he was currently on school holiday and as such was always home. Harder, because his interests were more closely aligned with Souta’s than her own – video games, computers, and (horror of horrors) maths. That’s not to say the two hadn’t got to know each other, though. All three of the children could often be found in the game room together, bonding over flattening each other in Mario Kart. Still, often it was just the two boys together, playing the more hardcore games that Kagome’s rudimentary gaming skills couldn’t keep up with, but that suited her just fine. Honestly, she was just happy that Souta was fitting in with her newfound family members as well, and that he wasn’t getting left behind this time. Seeing her brother, seeing _both_ her brothers, happy brought the most genuine smile to her face since she came back.

Kagome had also taken to exploring the woods surrounding the manor. While still being a part of Gotham City, Wayne Manor was actually located on the outskirts of it and was nestled upon a truly vast piece of property, of which the manor itself was the only part that had been developed. As such, there was quite a sizable forest stretching behind and around the building Kagome now found herself residing in.

Kagome often disappeared into the forest for hours at a time, relishing in the peaceful quiet of nature, finding a calm spot to meditate, or finding a good clearing where she could practise her forms. She may no longer be able to return to the Feudal Era, but she refused to allow the skills she had spent so much time learning rust and go to waste.

Bruce and Alfred had shown some concern the first time she said she was going to explore, warning her not to get lost, but Kagome had assured them that she knew her way around nature and that she would be back before sundown. 

Over time the two slowly lost their tension whenever Kagome said she was going into the forest for a bit, and Alfred became used to her swinging by his kitchen to steal a few pieces of fruit on her way out. While there would always be a hint of concern, they no longer worried when she went out on her own so long as she was back before dark.

It was good, Kagome decided as she made her way back to the house after another afternoon spent practising with her sword. She and Souta were both settling in and becoming comfortable here. And her mom was right, the change of scenery really was helping. Her nights were still just as plagued as they were back home, but her days were getting better. Not being in a place surrounded by memories was definitely helping.

“Kagome!” the loud cry jolted her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see that Souta and Dick had been waiting by the back door for her to return.

“You’re finally back!” cried Souta as the two boys raced across the lawn and bounced up to her sides.

“Hey, boys,” Kagome greeted them. “What’s the rush?”

“Dick’s been telling me all about his awesome two friends, Wally and Roy, and I really want to meet them and Dick said he could invite them to come over tomorrow but Bruce-san said that we had to make sure it was ok with you first so is it? Please say it is. Please, please, please, please, please?” Souta begged, barely stopping for breath and making Kagome’s head spin as she tried to keep up with the blur of words.

“What did you feed him?” Kagome asked Dick, ignoring Souta’s question for the moment as she eyed her hyperactive brother warily.

“We played beer pong but with soft drink instead of beer. He lost. A lot. He should crash soon, though,” Dick explained, rolling his eyes good-naturedly at the younger boy who was now clinging to his sister’s arm, shaking it and bouncing around as he tried to get her to agree to his plea.

“Right,” Kagome said, ignoring her brother with an ease that spoke of practice. “Now, why did Bruce-san say to ask me first? They’re your friends and you live here, you can invite them over if you want to.”

“Bruce wants you to be comfortable here,” he said simply. “He knows it’s a big change and you’re still getting used to the three of us. He doesn’t want you to be forced to meet even more people before you’re ready to.”

“Oh,” Kagome realised in surprise before her eyes softened. “That’s very kind of him. But it’s fine. I don’t want you to not be able to see you’re friends because of my account. Besides, I also think it would be nice to meet them.”

“Really? Yeah!!” Souta whooped, running in circles around them in his excitement.

“Are you sure?” Dick asked, ignoring Souta’s antics for the moment and eying Kagome critically.

“Positive,” Kagome reassured him with a gentle but genuine smile. “I’m curious about them anyway. What are they like?”

Their slow walk back to the house was filled with the sound of Dick chattering away, telling Kagome all about who Wally and Roy were, how long they had been friends, how they had met, what kind of people they were, and more.

As they finally reached the back door, Dick paused in his endless prattle to turn a questioning look onto the girl standing beside him.

“Still, though, Kagome,” he asked seriously, “are you sure you want to meet them tomorrow? I don’t want you to force yourself for my sake or anything.”

“I’m sure, Dick,” Kagome soothed gently but firmly. “They sound like good people. Besides,” she continued with a haughty, but completely fake, sniff, “it’s an older sister’s prerogative to embarrass her younger brother, and who better to provide juicy stories than old friends like them?”

She tossed Dick a superior smirk over her shoulder before disappearing through the doorway. Dick stood there for a few moments with his jaw dropped as he processed what she just said before he released an indignant shriek.

“Kagome!” he cried, darting through the door after her while Souta’s cackles echoed from behind him.


End file.
